Earth Day 2009

Today is Earth Day and it also happens to be election day for South Africa. While I can’t vote in the South African elections I can share with you the things I do to make a difference to this planet.

Luckily I was born to parents who were aware of the importance of recycling and conservation. Although I’m not quite an environmentalist I do care enough about the environment to change a few simple habits that help preserve this fragile planet we live on. Also growing up in Los Angeles I knew what it was like to live in a desert with no natural water resource nearby and no regular rainfall.

Here are my pet peeves that I see all the time:

• People who leave their engines running while in the car.
  • I once took my dog for a walk at the park and saw someone in their VW Beetle hanging out with the engine on. When I came back half an hour later she was still in the car with the engine on. Mind you the weather was a balmy 75°F/24°C outside so there was no reason for her to leave the engine on. The question is: Should I knock on her window and call her out on it?
• People who leave the tap on in public restrooms.
• People who take too many napkins or plastic utensils at restaurants.
  • I used to be one of these people when I was younger because I just didn’t know any better. The only justification I have is if you take too many napkins or utensils use them instead of throwing them out. Don’t collect them.
  • I have a dear friend that is so unintentionally wasteful. It drives me crazy. When we come over for dinner I’ll watch him as he cooks and he’ll literally go through an entire roll of paper towels. Eeek!
• People that don’t use water wisely.
  • It drives me crazy to see sprinklers on after a recent rainfall. I mean, aren’t there rain sensors available? I also hate to see sprinklers that are broken. We’ve all seen it, a flow of water shooting up into the air only to run off and create a little river.

  

Here are a few things I do to conserve energy, water and resources. Most of them are probably obvious but I’ll mention them anyway.

• Turn off the lights in any room I’m not actively using.
• Turn off the tap while brushing my teeth.
• Use reusable bags when shopping.
  • When I first got to South Africa I learned that markets charge for plastic bags used to carry groceries. I had to get into the habit of bringing my own reusuable bag. It took a good 3 months to get in that habit. I often forgot even though I put them in my car but as soon as I got the hang of it, it’s super easy not to forget.
• Use the dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes. Exception: large pots or non dishwasher-safe items.
  • My parents are convinced that hand washing dishes is best. They think that hand washing is cleaner. I’ve tried to convince them that the dishwasher is both energy/water efficient and more hygienic but they don’t believe me. Go figure.

  

• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) wherever possible.
• Water plants/turn on irrigation/sprinklers after the sun goes down.
  • While living in Joburg we had a guy who worked for us and he would water the lawn during the hottest time of day. I had to tell him again and again not to do it but he’d only listen half the time.
• Recycle.
  • Unfortunately depending on the area in which you live it can be nearly impossible to do so. I’ve lived in areas where recycling is picked up in a blue bin the same size as your rubbish bin and I’ve lived in an area where a recycling center is nearby where it’s not picked up but I can drop it off. I’ve also lived somewhere where recycling is not picked up and the nearest one is quite a distance away. When recycling is not accessible it’s likely I’m not the only one throwing paper in the rubbish bin.

In order to create earth-friendly habits I think the best thing to do is to educate kids at a young age the value of recycling and conservation of natural resources. I grew up with this awareness and it’s helped me become more conscious of what I’m doing to contribute to the preservation of the environment and it makes me feel good.

At the same time those people that often annoy me most likely weren’t taught how to save water or turn off the lights. Either that or they just don’t care.

I say make Earth Day every day.

What are you going to do this Earth Day?